The River (18 page)

Carved by the elements and erosion, Pulpit Rock hovered menacingly above the Nahanni, guarding the entrance to The Gate. Below it, the river was shrouded in a thick, sinuous fog that twisted and rose into the air. The dreary landscape was almost surreal and there were no signs of wildlife, no birds calling in the night.

Just an unnatural silence.

Del shivered uncontrollably.

How the hell did I get here? And where is everyone?

"Jake! Where are you?"

Her voice sounded weird, hollow.

She strode to the edge of the river.

"Help me!" she screamed. "Somebody…please…help me!"

The only sound she heard was her own voice, echoing.

She peered into the night, abandoned, desolate.

Maybe they're still inside the cave.

Her vision blurred suddenly. Then a sharp knifelike pain sliced through her optical nerve. Determined to fight it, she clamped her eyes shut.

"Damnit! Not now!"

After the pain subsided, she limped toward the grass.

But she didn't make it.

Without warning, she collapsed, falling face-forward to the stony shore. A searing pain ripped through her as razor-thin rocks scraped across her face. A trickle of blood dripped onto her hand.

She stared at it.

Barely conscious, one final thought hit her before she slipped into oblivion.

MS is a nasty bitch!

Fourteen

J
ake heard a dull roaring sound. He opened his mouth to call out but swallowed muddy water instead. Blinking in disbelief, he peered at the cold dark shadows surrounding him.

Then it hit him.

Jesus! I'm underwater!

Spurred into motion, he kicked hard, unsure of which way was up. His lungs strained for air and his body ached all over.

He was going to drown. He knew it.

All of a sudden, a soft glimmer caught his eye. Thrashing toward it, he broke the surface, gulping in a huge breath of air.

"What the hell?"

Somehow he had landed in the Nahanni River―in the middle of the night, with only the light from the full moon to guide him.

"Help!" a voice called.

Treading water, Jake searched the water's murky surface.

"Someone help me!"

It was Miki.

She was a few yards downriver, holding onto a rock, her chin bare inches from the river's surface.

"I'm coming, Miki! Hold on!"

His muscles strained against the current of the river as it attempted to drag him away. He kicked with all of his strength, cutting through the water with a clean breaststroke.

It seemed to take forever but he finally reached her.

He grabbed her arm. "I've got you. We have to head for shore."

Miki shook her head. "I can't. I'm stuck."

Reaching below the surface, he quickly discovered her problem.

The front strap of her life jacket was lodged between two rocks, pinning her tightly against them.

Miki floundered in the water helplessly.

"Hurry, Jake! The water's rising!"

She choked on a mouthful of water.

Jake knew he had to get her out―fast. The water was up to her bottom lip. If the river rose much higher, her head would be completely submerged.

"Hold still."

He stretched around her and tugged hard on the front of the life jacket. Frustrated, he grabbed her, bracing his feet against the rock.

She didn't budge.

"You'll have to slip out of it."

Her eyes swelled with fear. "It won't unzip all the way. And it's a tight squeeze."

He smiled. "Not for a little thing like you."

She stared at him. "I know what you're trying to do."

"What's that, Miki?"

"Get me to relax."

"Is it working?"

"If I take it off…" Her voice trailed away.

Jake knew exactly what Miki was thinking. If she took off her life jacket, she could be swept away. He was thinking the same thing, and it worried the hell out of him.

"I'll grab you," he promised. "Unzip it as far as you can, then slide out from under it. Grab onto me as soon as you come up for air."

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

Jake took in a shaky breath, holding onto the top of the life jacket.

"Ready?"

Inhaling deeply, Miki wriggled her shoulders and sank below the surface. He could barely make out her head in the shadowy water, but he could sense her below, kicking. A tired numbness inched over him. The water was freezing. The motion of the river lulled him and he was tempted to lie on his back.

"Come on, Miki."

His mind drifted…

They had been in the cave looking at some weird crystals. That much he remembered. The rest was cloudy.

How the hell did I end up in the river? Miki too.

Suddenly, he realized that Miki had been underwater an awfully long time.

He gave the jacket a hard shake.

Oh Jesus!

The life jacket was empty.

"Miki?"

Frantic, he dove beneath the surface of the water.

There was no sign of her.

His arms and legs grew weak from diving, over and over again.

If you don't get to dry land, Kerrigan, you're gonna die.

Reluctantly, he swam to shore, crawled out of the river and collapsed on the ground. Under the soft glow of the moon, he listened to the hammering of his heart, praying that he'd hear Miki call out once more.

Only silence greeted him.

He sat up, gazing across the water's surface.

"Miki!"

There was no sign of her―anywhere.

Miki Tanaka was gone.

The moon gleamed above, clear and bright, as Hawk shook his head and tried to clear the cobwebs of confusion from his mind.

Beside him, TJ mumbled something incoherent.

They were clinging to a piece of driftwood while the easy current of the Nahanni River pushed them toward the shore.

TJ nudged him. "Hey, man. I can touch the bottom."

As they waded through the water, Hawk stared up at the star-filled sky. Then he fixed his eyes on the steep slab of rock that rose from the depths of the water a few yards away.

He recognized his surroundings immediately.

The Gate!

A shiver of fear wracked his body.

"Jesus! How'd we end up here?"

Reaching the shore, he dropped to the rocks, exhausted.

TJ stretched out beside him, one arm over his eyes.

"What happened, dawg?"

"I have no idea. But something is…very wrong, TJ."

The Nahanni―
his
Nahanni―felt foreign to him. It had changed somehow. Even the lush landscape was different―muted and lifeless.

"How'd we end up in the river?" TJ asked.

Hawk's memory of what had happened the moment he stepped between the crystals was hazy too. What he did remember was the exploding light that had rendered him virtually senseless. The last thing he had felt was a rush of air. And then cold, icy water.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

TJ sat up suddenly. "Where's Del? And the others?"

"I don't know, but we need to build a fire."

"Jesus, Hawk! We can't think about getting warm right now. They're out there somewhere―"

"A fire is visible. They'll see it."

Hawk staggered to his feet and strode toward a stand of trees.

"But we don't have a lighter," TJ called after him.

Hawk stopped, turned.

Why do white men have so little faith?

"The earth provides all things, TJ. You gotta have faith."

TJ shook his head slowly. "Me and faith haven't been on the best of terms lately. I've screwed up too many things. Including my relationship with Del."

"She seemed all right with you. She invited you, didn't she?"

"I don't think she sees me as anything but an ex who screwed around on her. That was the stupidest thing I ever did."

"Yeah. It probably was."

TJ cringed. "Del and I used to be great friends."

"There are always ways to redeem yourself," Hawk said in a quiet voice. "You came here, didn't you? Not many friends would do even that. She'll recognize that."

"Maybe…I'll go get something to start the fire."

While TJ went off to scour the beach for kindling and moss, Hawk tested a few nearby tree branches. He needed dry wood that was easy to break. Thankfully, he found a small burn area. Many of the trees were coal black, but some of the wood was salvageable.

On the beach, he dug a small pit in the ground. When TJ returned with a clump of moss and small pieces of driftwood, they added it to the pit.

"So how do we get this thing going?" TJ asked.

"I'll show you."

Hawk picked up two rocks and whacked them together. They crumbled and he tossed them aside.

TJ passed him two more. "Try these."

When Hawk smacked the rocks against each other, they held, and he gave TJ the thumbs up. Lying on the ground, he rubbed the rocks together, close to the clump of moss.

At first nothing happened. No smoke, no spark. Nothing.

He rubbed the rocks harder, faster.

"Want me to try," TJ offered.

As soon as he spoke, a spark ignited the moss, then the kindling.

"Hey, dawg, you did it!"

Hawk smiled.

He had never doubted for a moment that the great spirits would let him down. That was the Dene way.

Ten minutes later, a roaring bonfire lit up the beach.

"We'll be okay now," TJ murmured.

Hawk eyed the looming forest behind them.

TJ had no idea the danger they were in. There was a lot to worry about. Bears, wolves…hypothermia. Not to mention they had no food or drinking water.

Damn you, McGee! If you had been with us you'd have talked me out of taking these people on a wild goose chase.

They spent the next hour hovered over the fire. They removed their jackets, shirts and jeans, and draped them over two branches, suspending them high above the flames.

"Yum…smoked shirt," TJ grinned. "You'll have to add this to your Nahanni cookbook."

Hawk chuckled, then his expression turned sober.

"We'll head out first thing in the morning to look for everyone."

"Hey, man! I'm not leaving Del out there by herself all night. After I dry off I'm going to find her."

Hawk understood TJ's concern. Del hadn't been looking too good the last day or so.

"Fine. I'll keep the fire burning. That way you'll―"

"Hawk! Is that you?"

Jake Kerrigan stumbled toward them, a wild look in his eyes.

"Miki's gone!"

TJ's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Her life jacket got pinned between some rocks. I told her to take it off."

"What happened?" Hawk asked, although he already knew the answer.

Jake looked at them, guilt in his eyes. "The current swept her away. One second she was there, the next second she was…gone."

Hawk stared wordlessly at the river.

What was there to say? Miki could never have survived without a life jacket. And that meant one thing.

The Nahanni had claimed another life.

"I'm sure you did everything―"

Jake's jaw clenched. "Obviously not enough."

His gaze drifted over the beach. "Where's Del? And the others?"

"We don't know, dawg," TJ said quietly. "Hell, we don't even know what happened. Like, how did we get here?"

Hawk jerked his head in the direction of the fire. "Get dried off, Jake. In the morning, we'll hunt for Del and the others."

"When exactly
is
that?"

"I don't know. My watch isn't working. What about yours?"

TJ and Jake looked at their watches, then shook their heads.

"We've got maybe four hours until the sun rises," Hawk said, examining the sky.

"Maybe they'll find us first," TJ muttered.

"Maybe."

But I'm not holding my breath.

Hawk threw another log on the fire and thought about the others.

Del was in bad shape because of her MS. And Gary, the computer guy, would never survive for long on his own in the wild. Peter might, though. At least the kid was accustomed to roughing it. As for Francesca? Well, that woman would probably scare off any predators with a single glare.

"We'll have to monitor the fire in shifts."

"I'm going to walk by the river," Jake said. "I'll take the shift after you, if that's all right with TJ."

After he left, Hawk and TJ quickly donned their somewhat drier clothes and settled near the fire, talking in hushed tones, even though no one could hear them.

They watched Jake. They were both worried about him.

Hawk knew that Jake was thinking about Miki Tanaka, that he felt responsible for her death.

We're all responsible.

He closed his eyes and murmured a prayer in his native tongue.

TJ eyed him. "What are you doing?"

"Praying for a miracle."

The next morning, Jake eyed the sliver of sunlight as it made its appearance over the horizon. He sighed, disappointed that none of the others had stumbled across their fire.

All night long, he had tossed and turned as flashes of memory seeped into his dreams. The peculiar crystal formation in the cave. Peter disappearing before his eyes. Miki vanishing beneath the Nahanni River. Del…

Where was she?

God, he hoped that she was okay.

A movement caught his eye.

Hawk was standing on the rocks near the shore. He gripped something in his hands.

"I got it!"

Jake straightened. "Got what?"

Hawk held up his day bag. "My miracle."

"Miracle Whip?" TJ uttered, shooting upright.

Half asleep, he blinked a few times, groaning, stretching his legs.

"Do I look as bad as you, dawg?"

Jake grinned. "Worse."

Hawk unzipped the bag. "Keep your fingers crossed."

A full water bottle was the first thing Jake saw. Beside it was a large Ziploc bag filled with granola.

"Water and food," he said. "It's a start.
If we're lucky, TJ, we'll find our bags too."